Parents

Education news, analysis, and opinion about how parents and other family members interact with schools and their children’s education
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Families & the Community Opinion Chronic Absenteeism Has Exploded. What Can Schools Do?
The key to addressing this issue is rebuilding the relationship between families and schools.
Rick Hess, February 15, 2024
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8 min read
Sharon Bradley, director of student, family and community services for Plano ISD, stands for a portrait outside the Plano ISD Cox Building in Plano, Texas, on Dec. 14, 2023.
Sharon Bradley is the director of student, family, and community services for the Plano school district in Plano, Texas, where leads a major effort to identify the root causes of student absenteeism and find supports and solutions that get chronically absent students back on track.
Shelby Tauber for Education Week
School & District Management Q&A This Leader Takes a Compassionate Approach to Truancy. It's Transforming Students' Lives
Sharon Bradley on how the Plano Attendance Review Board works and what it means to adopt a less punitive approach to absenteeism.
Madeline Will, February 5, 2024
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5 min read
Sharon Bradley, director of student, family and community services for Plano ISD, listens to members of the Character, Attendance, and Restorative Education (CARE) team discuss their current projects in Plano, Texas, on Dec. 14, 2023. The CARE department focuses on equipping students and adults with the tools, strategies, and resources that support a safe, engaging, and collaborative learning environment through character education, attendance recovery, and restorative practices.
Sharon Bradley, the director of student, family, and community services for the Plano, Texas, school district listens to staff members on a special team that focuses on helping students and their families address a range of challenges that may get in the way of regular attendance and engagement at school.
Shelby Tauber for Education Week
Families & the Community Leader To Learn From Absenteeism Was a Big Problem in This District. A New Strategy Is Getting Results
Sharon Bradley remembers how it felt to miss school for reasons outside her control.
Madeline Will, February 5, 2024
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11 min read
Ana Pasarella, the director of family and community engagement for Alvin ISD, oversees an activity as Micaela Leon, 3, a student in Alvin ISD’s READy Program, draws on a piece of paper on Alvin ISD’s STEM bus in Manvel, Texas, on Dec. 8, 2023.
Ana Pasarella, the director of family and community engagement for the Alvin Independent school district in Texas, oversees an activity as Micaela Leon, 3, a student in the district's READy Program, draws on a piece of paper inside the district's STEM bus in Manvel, Texas.
Callaghan O’Hare for Education Week
Families & the Community Leader To Learn From A Former Teacher Turns Classroom Prowess Into Partnerships With Families
Ana Pasarella maximizes her community's assets to put students first.
Ileana Najarro, February 5, 2024
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8 min read
Books sit in a cart and on shelves in an elementary school library in suburban Atlanta on Aug. 18, 2023.
Books sit in a cart and on shelves in an elementary school library in suburban Atlanta on Aug. 18, 2023.
Hakim Wright Sr./AP
Families & the Community Parents Trust School Librarians to Select Books, But There's a Catch
A new survey shows what parents think of school libraries and librarians following efforts throughout the country to remove books.
Libby Stanford, January 16, 2024
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5 min read
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis publicly signs HB7, "individual freedom," also dubbed the "stop woke" bill during a news conference at Mater Academy Charter Middle/High School in Hialeah Gardens, Fla., on Friday, April 22, 2022.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs HB7, the Individual Freedom Act, also dubbed the Stop WOKE Act, during a news conference at Mater Academy Charter Middle/High School in Hialeah Gardens, Fla., on Friday, April 22, 2022. The bill is intended to prohibit the teaching of critical race theory in K-12 schools. New research finds that the public calls for bans on the instruction of critical race theory diminished the general public's trust in local schools and teachers.
Daniel A. Varela/Miami Herald via AP
Families & the Community A Side Effect of Anti-CRT Campaigns? Reduced Trust in Local Schools
The calls to ban CRT had little evidence behind them, but they were powerful enough to change people's perceptions of their local schools.
Libby Stanford, January 10, 2024
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6 min read
Illustration of dice with arrows and court/law building icons: conceptual idea of laws and authority.
Andrii Yalanskyi/iStock/Getty
States Q&A How Districts Can Navigate Tricky Questions Raised by Parents' Rights Laws
Where does a parent's authority stop and a school's authority begin? A constitutional law scholar weighs in.
Caitlynn Peetz, January 9, 2024
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6 min read
Hands holding red circle. Sensing energy between palms. Concept of human relation, togetherness, partnership, connection, contact or network
iStock/Getty + Education Week
Families & the Community Opinion I Thought I Knew Parent-Teacher Conferences. Then My Own Child Started School
Parent-teacher conferences are a different experience from the other side of the table, writes one experienced educator.
Marissa McCue Armitage, January 9, 2024
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4 min read
People hold signs during a protest at the state house in Trenton, N.J., Monday, Jan. 13, 2020. New Jersey lawmakers are set to vote Monday on legislation to eliminate most religious exemptions for vaccines for schoolchildren, as opponents crowd the statehouse grounds with flags and banners, including some reading "My Child, My Choice."
People hold signs during a protest at the state house in Trenton, N.J., on Jan. 13, 2020, opposing legislation to eliminate most religious exemptions for vaccines for schoolchildren. In North Carolina, a bill passed to protect parents' rights in schools caused uncertainty that led two districts to pause a child sex abuse prevention program out of fear it would violate the new law.
Seth Wenig/AP
States How a Parents' Rights Law Halted a Child Abuse Prevention Program
State laws that have passed as part of the parents' rights movement have caused confusion and uncertainty over what schools can teach.
Libby Stanford & Caitlynn Peetz, December 21, 2023
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7 min read
Andy, left, a first-grade student at Mount Pleasant Elementary School, works on his math homework with Sharon Francisco, an English learner teacher with Roanoke County Public Schools on April, 26, 2022, in Roanoke, Va.
Andy, left, a 1st grade student at Mount Pleasant Elementary School, works on his math homework with Sharon Francisco, an English-learner teacher with Roanoke County Public Schools on April, 26, 2022, in Roanoke, Va.
Heather Rousseau/The Roanoke Times via AP
English-Language Learners Ed. Dept. Releases New Toolkit to Engage English Learners' Families
The updated English-learner family toolkit is available in four languages and as a mobile app.
Ileana Najarro, December 8, 2023
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3 min read
Happy African American elementary boy showing his family exam results with the red letter A.
E+
Student Achievement From Our Research Center Who's the Real Audience for A-F and Numeric Grades? Hint: It's Not the Students
Traditional grading systems help parents—as well as colleges and universities—get a sense of how students are doing, educators say.
Alyson Klein, December 5, 2023
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2 min read
Woman finding her way to a happy smile icon in the middle of labyrinth like maze with school subject icons ghosted over a cloudy sky textured background.
iStock/Getty Images Plus
School & District Management 5 Mistakes Schools Make When Building SEL Programs
Experts weigh in on how to avoid parental and community backlash against social-emotional learning initiatives.
Arianna Prothero, November 27, 2023
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5 min read
Hand holding out school report card with grades for test scores or school grades. Background with student silhouettes.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Families & the Community Parents Don’t Know When Their Kids Have Fallen Behind. Report Cards Could Be the Problem
Parents rely on report cards to gauge whether their kids are on track academically. But they might be misleading, a survey shows.
Caitlynn Peetz, November 15, 2023
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6 min read
Photo of mother working with young son on his reading.
E+ / Getty
Reading & Literacy U.S. Parents Think Reading Instruction Is Going OK—Until They See National Test Results
Most parents also seem to favor phonics as an approach to word-reading, a new survey finds.
Sarah Schwartz, November 14, 2023
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5 min read
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